Running from 1955 to 1965 Alfred Hitchcock, the famous director of The Birds and Psycho, had a weekly TV series. It was focused on crime, mostly murder. If you have cable, you can catch these as reruns even today. It is surprising how well they hold up, at least for me, in our modern day.
Recently an episode from 1959 titled Not the Running Type appeared and, while I remember many from my childhood, this one was new to me. It is an instructive lesson in compounding interest and early retirement. Creative early retirement.
Maybe it was buried in my subconscious. Maybe this is the root behind the investing path I took.
Pull up a chair here by the fire and after I light my pipe, I’ll tell you the tale as best I can.
Or you can just google it and watch for yourself.
Not the Running Type
Back in 1947, Milton Potter was a low level clerk for the firm Metro Investments. He’d been there for 13 years and was still only making $60 a week. That’s $3120 per year.
Mr. Potter is a quiet man almost to the point of invisibility. Indeed one day when he doesn’t show up for work, as unusual as that is for him, it takes three days for anyone to notice.
Or care. At least until another clerk reports that Mr. Potter’s books don’t balance. $200,000 has gone missing along with him. That certainly gets their attention.
At first, he is nowhere to be found. They search his apartment but find little of note other than travel books and brochures.
Then out of the blue he walks into the police station and turns himself in. He freely confesses to the embezzlement but steadfastly refuses to say what happened to the money.
He is promptly tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
He spends most of his time in prison reading travel books. Quiet and assuming there as at work, he gets three years off for good behavior and is released 12 years later in 1959. His arresting officer is waiting.
The officer figures Mr. Potter has been planning for this day when he’ll retrieve the $200,000 and live happily ever after. He is not going to let that happen on his watch.
Visiting Mr. Potter the officer informs him that, while he has served his time, in no way does that mean he can keep the money.
They verbally, and rather cordially, fence back and forth a bit. It is all very civilized.
Then Mr. Potter points to the suitcase on the bed and invites the officer to open it. There, in neat bundles, is the $200,000 in full and in cash. He has decided to return it.
The now very puzzled officer collects it and leaves. Mr. Potter has served his time and has returned the money. It would be hard to imagine a case more closed than that.
The final scene is on a luxury ocean liner headed for Hawaii. Mr. Potter is on his way to France, the long way around. He is sitting in a lounge chair on deck, watching the pretty girls play shuffleboard and drinking champagne with another passenger.
“I always wanted to travel when I retired,” he tells his new acquaintance.
“How did you manage to retire with taxes being what they are these days?” (Some things never change.)
“Did you ever stop to think,” says Mr. Potter, “how much $200,000 earns in 12 years in interest compounded quarterly in various carefully selected savings banks? One hundred fifty four thousand eight hundred sixty two dollars and twenty five cents.” (Gotta love the post-depression investing approach!)
“Yes, but how does one come up with the $200,000?”
“Well, you could borrow it,” says Mr. Potter. “Like I did.”
So, our Mr. Potter invested $200,000 of his employer’s money, and 12 years of his life, for a return of $154,862.25. Using our 4% rule, he can now live on $6194.49 a year for the rest of his life. Almost twice his annual salary.
Rarely if ever do I recall a criminal getting away with it in Hitchcock’s weekly plays. But Mr. Potter does. Maybe old Alfred had a soft spot for the concept of reaching Financial Independence. I know I do.
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Addendum:
If you are anything like me, you are wondering what those 1947 and 1959 dollars look like after inflation here in 2021. So let’s fire up our inflation calculator and see…
|
1947 |
2021 |
|
$60 |
$727 |
|
$3,120 |
$37,804 |
|
$200,000 |
$2,423,014 |
|
1959 | |
|
$154,862 |
$1,395,164 |
|
$6,194 |
$55,831 |
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